The federal government's move to put off two mega infrastructural projects for Penang - the RM2 billion monorail and RM1.5 billion Penang Outer Ring Road (Porr) - left the DAP-led state government fuming.

But Penang Umno and civil societies see it as "a blessing in disguise".

lim guan eng penang pc 160608 Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng did not mince his words after learning about the double-blow, describing it as "a fallible, irrational and irresponsible decision based on political vendetta and malice".

He accused the federal government of forsaking public interests, rights and economic benefits to replete its desire to punish Penang voters for the March 8 political tsunami.

If the federal government was sincere and honest in scrapping the projects under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, he said it could have discussed the matter first with the state administration.

"It did not," he charged and felt that he was right to hit out at the federal government's hypocrisy by pulling out promised projects for Penangites.

Lim's fury was comprehensible when the ruling Barisan Nasional had promised during election campaigns to deliver these two projects to the people of Penang, but is now complaining of financial constraints.

Acknowledging that the projects were vital for Penang's future growth, Lim said the state government will now work on other alternatives to improve the state traffic management system and ease city congestion.

Fortunately for the state government, the federal government will carry out the second Penang Bridge project as scheduled.

Nonetheless, the chief minister cannot accept that a Penang-born prime minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, could scrap crucial projects for his home state, merely to gain political mileage.

Guan Eng's disappointment was echoed by Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) Penang chief Abdul Razak Abdul Hamid who said the federal decision would hurt Penang economic growth, especially the construction industry and, obliterate business and employment opportunities for locals.

By not implementing the projects, he said the federal government had wasted public funds on the feasibility and viability studies carried out for these projects years ago.

"The BN government is keen on its political goal to hurt Penangites for their electoral verdict," the unionist lamented.

Penang Umno: Decision not politically motivated

azhar ibrahim However, state Umno opposition leader Azhar Ibrahim rebuked Lim, claiming that the federal government "was not playing politics" and would not have made the decision without considering all pros and cons.

"Anyway, the monorail would only benefit the people in the north east district, not all Penangites," he said, while blaming obstinate landowners for the scrapping of Porr.

Landowners, he said, did not cooperate with the authorities, thus delaying the land acquisition process and alignment of the highway, thus "the federal government decided to channel the money elsewhere".

"The state government should now at least request for federal funds to improve public transport across Penang," said the Penaga state assemblyperson.

Elsewhere civil societies too welcomed the decision to scrap the mega-projects which they described as "a waste of public funds".

Citizens Group for Sustainable Transport (Cepat) spokesperson Choong Sim Poey said the group did not regret the federal decision since it had always doubted the sustainability of these projects due to their high capital investments.

Moreover, he said the state needed sustainable transport system more than mega-infrastructural projects.

Since the federal government had shelved the projects, he said it was now duty bound to upgrade the state public transport system to reduce the cost burden of the people.

anil netto Social reform movement Aliran treasurer Anil Netto believed that the decision "could be a blessing in disguise", saying that at least the state government would be forced to look into improving public transportation and traffic management.

"At least the state government will look into other alternatives to improve the traffic management system and ease traffic congestion.

"It can come up with a comprehensive master plan to provide efficient, reliable and affordable public transportation to Penangites," said Anil.

The controversial Porr is a 17-kilometre expressway that stretches from Tanjung Tokong to Gelugor in the island, while the monorail was proposed two years ago to help overcome worsening traffic jams in the city's roads.